Destin Back to Pensacola

We were all set to leave Destin — until we found the starboard engine was dead! A quick check pointed to the start battery and we put the dinghy back in the water and I headed to the auto parts store which was about a mile on foot. Battery replaced we were ready to go after a 2 hour delay.

During our stay in Destin, our new friends, Tom and Karen invited us to join them at Pensacola Beach to watch the Blue Angels show, scheduled for the next day.

Just beyond the Destin Jetties, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins that traveled with us for at least 45 minutes. What a treat!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpc9APaOg8s

The sail north was fantastic with clear skies and a perfect wind. We rounded the Pensacola jetties after lunch and turned south down the bay on our way to Pensacola Beach. We had a nervous moment as we had to pass under a bridge with a 65 foot clearance. We anchored next to our new friends just before dark and just in time for happy hour aboard Sea Esta! It was great to be in the company of wonderful people and it didn’t hurt that they had a great bottle of rum aboard!

The next morning, we went ashore and rented an electric car to tour the island. There wasn’t much to see, but it reminded us of South Padre Island and we enjoyed the people watching and cruising. With the car returned, we boarded our dinghy and headed back to the boat in time to watch the show. Not the Blue Angels — the people! There were people and boats of all types, shapes, and sizes — and what a show they put on for us!!!

The real show began with a low fly by of a C130 and it got better from there. At times if felt as if they jets were going to hit our mast. Fantastic!!

The next morning, we left the anchorage and headed for the Pensacola Yacht Club. Our son Patrick and my sister Laura were due to fly in that afternoo and we were expecting a part for our Water Maker to be waiting for us at the club and I wanted time to complete the repair before our crew arrived. It was a short motor into the wind across the bay, but we had no idea that we’d be going against the rush of boats headed to Pensacola Beach for the Saturday Blue Angel show. There were big boats, little boats, sailboats, and tug boats. They were all in powering as fast as they could towards the anchorage and the wakes they threw up were amazing!

We docked at the yacht club just before lunch. Michelle headed to the laundry mat and the grocery store while I spent some time working on a couple of projects and waiting on the Fedx truck to arrive with our new high pressure hose for the water maker. I completed my projects just about the time that Michelle returned with the groceries and laundry. The water maker part never did arrive!

Patrick and Laura arrived around 3:00 PM and we motored over to the fuel dock to top off the tanks. We returned to our slip and I had the crew hoist me up the mast so that I could check all the fittings. We topped off the water tank and finally I felt we were ready to make the crossing back to Port Aransas.

With the sun getting low, we called it a day, poured rum drinks, and headed to the pool to cool off.

Back on the boat, we changed clothes and headed to the club for a “last meal,” which was fantastic. At dawn the next day, we were headed for Texas!